Head South

Set in the upstart postpunk scene of late ‘70s Christchurch – director Jonathan Ogilvie's hometown – this bittersweet semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale features a killer soundtrack that opened Rotterdam and screened at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival 2024.

HEAD SOUTH is a touching drama from director Jonathan Ogilvie set in late 1970s Christchurch. Ed Oxenbould (Paper Planes, Wildlife) and Kiwi muso Benee star as friends who navigate early adulthood against the backdrop of the city’s emerging punk music scene.

Ed Oxenbould (The Visit) is wonderfully vulnerable as Angus, a middle-class schoolboy desperate to be one of the cool kids on the local music scene in thrall to the sounds of London bands like PiL and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Cutting off his long hair, finagling a bass, and scoring a gig before he even learns to play, Angus stumbles into a thrilling new world with sweet charm and mortifying awkwardness. Márton Csókás (Cuckoo, also screening at the Festival) is stellar as Angus's embittered but understanding dad who is suddenly too bourgeois and establishment for his newly class-conscious son.

Filled with warmth and nostalgic detail, Ogilvie has crafted an achingly emotional tribute to an epochal moment in music.